TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 4, 2016) - Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:REF.UN) ("CREIT") today announced that it has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") for the renewal of its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") which will enable it to purchase up to 3,658,373 of its outstanding Trust Units ("Units"), representing 5% of its 73,167,469 issued and outstanding Units as at July 31, 2016.

CREIT intends to commence the NCIB on August 15, 2016. The NCIB will expire on August 14, 2017 or such earlier date as CREIT completes its purchases pursuant to the NCIB. All purchases under the NCIB will be made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX, Alpha or Canadian alternate trading systems at market prices prevailing at the time of purchase. In accordance with TSX rules, any daily repurchases will be limited to a maximum of 26,203 Units, representing 25% of the average daily trading volume of the Units on the TSX for the six months ended July 31, 2016 (being 104,815 Units). Any Units that are repurchased will either be cancelled or delivered to participants under CREIT's long-term incentive plan or distribution reinvestment plan.

The Trustees of CREIT believe that the ongoing purchase by CREIT of certain of its Units will afford additional liquidity for the issued and outstanding Units. To the extent the repurchased Units are cancelled, it will also benefit all remaining Unitholders by increasing their proportionate equity and voting interests in CREIT.

From time to time, when CREIT does not possess material non-public information about itself or its securities, it will rely on a pre-defined plan with its broker to allow for the repurchase of Units at times when CREIT ordinarily would not be active in the market due to its own internal trading blackout periods, insider trading rules or otherwise. Any such plans entered into with CREIT's broker will be adopted in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

Under its NCIB that commenced on August 13, 2015, CREIT has purchased an aggregate of 477,712 Units (390,497 for cancellation and 87,215 for purposes of its long-term incentive plan) at a weighted average purchase price of $41.84 per Unit.

About CREITCREIT is a real estate investment trust focused on accumulating and aggressively managing a portfolio of high-quality real estate assets and delivering the benefits of real estate ownership to Unitholders. The primary benefit is a reliable and, over time, increasing monthly cash distribution. CREIT owns a diversified portfolio of retail, office and industrial properties.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-looking StatementsThis news release contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and the environment in which we operate, which are based on our expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any such statement, to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, except as required by law.